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SC Candidate Forum: A Testament to the Bottom-Up Grassroots Model

FreedomWorks teamed with South Carolina’s grassroots activists to host a two-hour candidate forum in the state’s 1st Congressional District. On Saturday, February 16th, 16 candidates vying to fill the seat formerly held by Senator Tim Scott met at the Embassy Suites Hotel in North Charleston for a substantive policy discussion. A range of individuals—state-level politicians, small business owners, local activists and a former governor—fielded questions on pressing political and legislative matters. While each candidate advanced a unique approach to dealing with America’s deficits and debt, all agreed that the nation’s future demands an appropriate solution.

FreedomWorks President and CEO Matt Kibbe kicked off the afternoon by describing a battle for the direction of the Republican Party: “There’s a fight going on for the soul of the free-market, conservative, limited government movement. There are some guys in Washington—guys like Karl Rove—who think they should decide who our candidates are for Congress.” In contrast, events like this candidate forum offer testament to FreedomWorks’ bottom-up, grassroots model that emphasizes the role of the informed individual.

With over 300 engaged citizens in attendance, South Carolina’s electorate will command control of the election process. A small group of political consultants in the nation’s capital will not select the GOP nomination for the 1st Congressional District—the people, themselves, will make the call. FreedomWorks also streamed the forum in real-time using Live Events technology, helping to involve more citizens in the democratic process.

Each candidate received 60 seconds for an opening statement. Following introductions, moderators Easton Randall and Lauren Martel posed a series of rapid-fire questions for the candidates, touching on a variety of subjects including a balanced budget amendment, defense spending, crony capitalism, and school choice. Viewers following along on Twitter and the live-stream also had an opportunity to pose questions to the candidates. And at the end of the afternoon, each candidate was afforded one minute for a closing statement.

These forums have proven to be a critical instrument in FreedomWorks’ mission to repopulate the Republican Party with bold reformers in the mold of Mike Lee, Tim Scott and Ted Cruz. Grassroots activists select better candidates than the political elites in Washington D.C, because they understand the issues that matter most. With any luck, South Carolina’s candidate forum will help activists coalesce around one contender—the best candidate for their constituency.

With the help of South Carolina’s engaged base of activists, the candidate forum was a fantastic first step in electing a suitable successor to Sen. Tim Scott. To preserve the future for the next generation, America must chart a new course—and the next representative from the 1st District must be a leading member of this growing freedom movement.

As the first paychecks of 2013 were deposited into accounts earlier this month, some workers undoubtedly wondered why their take-home pay seemed lighter than in December. The reason was simple: the fiscal cliff deal is now beginning to rear its ugly head in the form of a payroll tax increase. Oddly, no one seemed more surprised than Obama supporters themselves. “What happened?” rang out among liberal blogs and message boards.

In the days leading up to President Obama announcing his gun control plans, and now that he has, the focus of Republicans and Conservatives has been squarely on his ever-encroaching attack on the Second Amendment. While the important debate over gun rights continues, we should not forget another vastly important detail.

Jack Lew, President Obama's choice to replace Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary, has been in Washington DC a long time. Anyone in public service that long will have quite a record of public statements that will paint an accurate picture for Senators who are considering his nomination.

The fiscal cliff is looming, and as FreedomWorks' President Matt Kibbe pointed out, “The $16 trillion monstrosity that is our current national debt is a product of spending too much, not taxing too little.” We need a plan that includes sequestration as well as reforms to taxation and entitlements. Senator Marco Rubio took to the airwaves last night to discuss just this.

With Congress set to convene to tackle sequestration and the fiscal cliff, the talk has once again centered around federal budget cuts and their potential effects. Tax hikes are back on the table, according to a few prominent Republicans this weekend. A large number of difficult military cuts looms. But few are thinking about the other layers of public spending that will be affected. State budgets will see massive effects from a potent mix of direct spending cuts and revenue reductions based, ironically, on the expiration of the Bush Tax Cuts.

President Obama’s reelection triggered a ticking time bomb of fed up Americans. Across the country small businesses and large corporations alike are closing their doors or laying off hundreds of employees. The innovators and entrepreneurs of America have been weary of increasing government regulation for quite some time, now.

Earlier this month, a hybrid battery plant in Holland Michigan began furloughing workers. Yes, even before the plant had produced a single battery since ground was broken in 2010. The plant received $150M in taxpayer money to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles but, due to lack of demand, it doesn’t look like we are getting our money’s worth.